The Penn's Grove record., 1887-03-26
A TERRIBLE HOTEL FIRE
Possible Loss of Thirty LiYes--Seven
Persons Known to be Dead and
Five Dying--Seventeen
Dangerously In
iured.

corner of Main and Eagle streets, was
totally destroyed by fire early this morn
ing, together with st. James Hall and
other adjacent property. The most dis
tressing part of the disaster is tile loss
Of several human lives. The rapidIty
of the fire, cutting off "a of escape,
led some persons to leap for life through
the windows. Others got down the
Gre escapes or on Hayes ladders, raised
by the fire department. The shrieks
and cries of the poor people in the
upper stories of the burning structure
were h~eartrending. One man, mad
with terror, leaped from a third-stOry
window, and was picked up from the
stone sidewalk on Main street a man
gled and bleeding corpse. Several who
succeeded in making their escape were
badly injured and burned, and some of
these will probably die.
There were 125 persons in the hotel
20 of whom were transient guests, s
5oarders and the remainder porters,
tell boys, the families of the proprietors
and clerks. Twenty-Five of these were
rescued from the windows by the fire.
men, % are at the hospitals and a
! idl BC huhlbC hlhdO LlClA toCoBV ~
other means.
The origin of the fire is not, as yet
known. William II. Airport, the night
clerk, says:
1.-THE FIRE started in the cloak room,
underline main stairway at 3. so O'Clock.
There was nobody up but myself, Joe,
the night porter, and Plummer, the
bell-boy. l pulled all four Of the fire
alarms on the different floors, ard the
people came flying downstairs in their
night clothes. The fire followed the
elevator. and inside of five M nutes, it
reached the top floor. | rushed out of
doors after doing all 1 could"
Bell-boy Plummer tells his experience
as follows:
II was busting the reading-room,
when | heard a shout and saw the
flames coming up the s airWay from the
basement. MI. ABORT and | turned
on the hose, under the main stairway;
we Strengthened the hose out and
turned the valve, but the water would
not run. Then we gave the alarm.
The Waterman and | got Il plank and
broke in the Eagle street entrance to
the hotel. Then we got the plank under
the fire-escape on Eagle street, and we
helped people down."
The spread of the flames is said to
have been frightful in their rapidly
The elevator shaft served as a hue for
the flames, and they u,hed up it to
the top floor in a very few minutes. AS
the guests were reused and saw the in
terror exits cut off they turned to the
windows. They could be seen in their
night clothes standing out clear and
vivid before the lurld background of
the flames. Their screams were hoT-
rible to hear, and they could be heard
for blocks. The flames spread to the
southeast side of the hotel first. Among
the guests In the hotel were about
twenty insurance agents, who had come
on to adjust the losses of the great fire
at Miller. Grelner Il Co.'S, and the
| Courier office, of Tuesday.
William j. Mann, one of the proprie-
tors of the house, and his wife, had
thrilling experiences in getting out.
Mrs. Mann was terribly burned about
the head, arms and legs. Their little
daughter, Jennie, was also badly
burned. The last person taken alive
from the burning building were two
female servants, who were rescued
from the southern end of the fifth floor
by the iiremen. Louis Zendman of
New York, a dry goods man, had a
| thrilling experience. His room was on
the fourth floor. Crawling out of the
window, he made his way to Bunnell's
Museum and gained entrance through
a window near the stage.
Alfred G. Clay, of Philadelphia, and
Louis E Smith, of Brooklyn were in
adjoining rooms on the fifth floor, and
both tell about the same story. They
reached the roof of Bunnell's Museum
and thus saved their lives They had ,bare-
ly reached Bunnell's Museum room,
when, ON looking back, they saw
five girls in a fifth-story window
They had tied the bed clothing into a
rope, which they hung out, but none of
them seem to have the courage to start.
At last one of the five took hold and
swung down to a window ledge, from
which she was assisted by Messrs. Clay
and Smith. Three others came down
in the same manner. and then the fifth
started down. She had gone but a
short distance when the rope parted,
and down she went four stories
Strange to say, she was not killed. Her
legs were terribly cut and bruised, her
back badly injured. and her face and
back were In a frightful condition from
burns. She lay moaning upon a lounge
at the Spencer House begging to be
sent home. In front of Dingen Bros.
store lay a dead man covered by a mat
tress. He had black hair and a full
face, which was covered with blood
and could not be recognized. AT first
it was thought he was Superintendent
Morford, OF the Michigan Central Rail-
road, hut MoTford was afterwaTd found.
Mark Osborne, day clerk and assist
ant manager of the hotel. is missing.
He slept on the south side, 1t is be-
lieved he persisted.
II. NJ. Johnson, the celebrated sprin-
ter, of P%ittsburg, says: ~ arrived al
Buffalo yesterday and was assigned to
room 1876, at the Richmond Hotel. A.
3. 30 O'Clock this morning he bell boy
pounded upon my door. | awOke and
found my room full of smoke. !
dressed quickly and rushed out into
Niit NAN way dhd8 Ohs Wy o'NA "hHS a-
sight. Men, women ard children acted
perfectly wild. and did not know which
way to 90. Women Iaved like maniacs,
and rushed pell-mell for the stairway
and in every direction. The smoke
| WAS almost s~ufTocating. | cannot re-
member anything about how | got out.
| think l came down the stairway
James MEG uire, night engineer at the
Post office. got into the hotel soon attel
the fire broke out. He saved a man
who was coming down stairs in his
night clothes, and who was Frustrated
blythe flames and smoke. After getting
HIM out he returned and tried 70 rescue
a young girl from "A o on the third
door. but she was lost in the fire. Mr..
Mcclure said: ut vas terrible to hear
her cries. For some reason she could
not open the door,. and | was unable to
break it in. Finally | was driven away
by the fire and smoke and had TO leave
her to her fate. l could only tell from
| the voice, but | suppose she was a young